novelraw Chapter 167 - 167 - Rooftop breaktime
Chapter 167 - 167 - Rooftop breaktime
As I leave the shrine I ponder pranking the slightly out of his depth young priest, but I decide against it in the end. Sure, it would not be out of character for me as a champion of Fox, but can't help but feel that the young man would be too easy prey for it to be any actual fun. Thus I only take this is another opportunity to practice my skills instead.
I move back down the stairs quietly, barely making any sound at all, and once I'm back downstairs in the main hall of the temple I use all the cover there is and the rather dim, flickering light provided by the candles of the various shrines, to slip past the lad without him ever noticing me, as he has returned to immersing himself into prayer at the shrine of his own divine patron.
He doesn't even notice when I slip back outside, not before I quietly close the big door again anyway. I barely opened it wide enough to squeeze through after all. In the end this earns me a little more progress for my [Stealth] skill. I'm pretty satisfied with that result and why wouldn't I be anyway? Every little bit helps after all.
With the temple left behind and my business with Fox taken care of, at least for now, I slink off in the direction of the gate. My mind wanders as I do. There still is some time to kill until my lessons on summoning the spirits of the dead with Rysia. Just what could I do until it's time though? It's probably not the right time to get involved in anything big. Even less should I get anything of that nature started myself. That still doesn't answer the question of just how I'm supposed to pass the time though. What a conundrum.
I could find myself a quiet spot and meditate a little since my Mana reserves aren't exactly topped off. That certainly would be a sensible thing to do. Where am I going to fiend a quiet spot around this time of the day though? That's another question entirely. Unless I spend some coin and rent a room, which I'd rather not, I might have to take to the rooftops to get some peace and quiet.
Someone using an identification skill on me as I approach the gate draws me from my silent contemplation. This one actually manages to pierce the shroud around my soul, but at least my [Shrouded Soul] skill still improves a little. If enough different people use these skills on me my defense against them should out level their skills eventually. That thought takes the bitter edge off my immediate emotional response to feeling such a skill, an appraisal skill rather than a regular identification skill to boot, being used on me. I still glare at the guard in question, while showing off my adventurers' guild tag at the same time. Will they ever learn? Probably not without being taught another bloody lesson first.
There is one other boon to this situation though. My glare seems to be good enough to make my [Intimidate] skill progress a little. I guess I'll take that silver lining to the clouds darkening my mind if it's the best I can get.
I quickly turn my mind back to brighter things as soon as I'm through the gate. Well, things that are potentially brighter. It's either that or there might be a whole new world of trouble brewing in my future. It's about that apparent misunderstanding with Lady Izolda. What prompted her curious reaction when I inquired about dance lessons. The question can't be that outlandish, right? No, it won't do me any good if I keep guessing. I better get a second opinion on the matter. Maybe I could ask Sylwia, or Matylda?
That's probably what I should do first. I'll just drop by the tavern at the downstream waterfront to check if either of the two is in or if whoever is at least knows where to find them. Even if I don't get to sate my curiosity immediately, I'll at least be able to make a more informed choice on how to proceed afterwards. My steps become a little lighter again with that spot of trouble at the gate behind me and my mind made up.
The waterfront is surprisingly busy in the evening, with plenty of riverboats coming in late as it seems. I don't pay that too much heed for now though. If there is some sort of trouble that needs to be dealt with I'll learn about it at the adventurers' guild for sure. Right now, I want to get a beer at the tavern and, if at all possible, some answers to shed some light on that peculiar situation I encountered earlier today.
My gaze goes to the usual place, the table towards the rear of the establishment's common room first and foremost, as I enter. And of course the place isn't abandoned. It's Jerzy himself who is holding down the fort today instead of foisting the job onto someone else. He obviously has already taken note of me.
Neither of the two women I'd like to talk with is there. Not with him and not anywhere else within view either for that matter. Oh well, it can't be helped. It would have been too easy if I had found either here. The two have their own lives and these do not necessarily revolve around me.
I move to sit with Jerzy anyway. It's only proper after all, that I show my face and have a word with him every once in a while, since he is my boss. I rummage through my purse for a penny and hand it to the serving girl on duty while sitting down across from the man. A moment later I have a mug of the local brew standing in front of me. I raise it in greeting and take a first small sip. Only when I set the mug back down with a content sigh do I actually speak up.
"Evening! I hope you are having as good a day as I'm. Just finished another job for the adventurers' guild. Anything up? If not, you wouldn't happen to know where I might find either Matylda or Sylwia?"
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The man takes a sip from his own mug, in no apparent hurry to answer, which already is a good indicator that nothing urgent, nothing concerning me anyway, is going on.
"It's been a quiet day for me, which means it was good. As for those two. I'm not sure about Sylwia. She is one of my brother's flock. Matylda on the other hand should be running some small scale gambling at one street corner or another. It's what she usually does when nothing big is up. Anything specific you need of those two?"
Of course he asks. Gathering, filtering and forwarding or trading information is the most important part of his job here after all.
I have no reason not to share my intentions either. Who knows, maybe he can answer my questions and safe me a trip across town in search of either of the two. Thus I ask Jerzy the question I originally intended for either Matylda or Sylwia.
"Ah, well. I had a weird moment today. In a brief conversation with Lady Izolda at the keep. It was like we weren't quite on the same page. Almost like we were talking about very different things."
He straightens up at the mention of the name and his eyes widen a little too.
"Lady Izolda? You aren't getting yourself or us into trouble, are you?"
"No. I don't think so. It was … just, well, weird? I asked if she could use a hand in any other lessons, like dancing or the like. And her response left me … well, lost?"
"What did she say?"
"Nothing too troubling. Just that I'm not ready for any lessons on dancing she might teach yet. That's it. I honestly have no clue what to make of that."
I'm not the only one slightly lost either. Jerzy takes another sip from his beer and scratches the back of his head, looking just as lost as I feel. Finally he shrugs.
"Might be a cultural thing? Noble ballroom dancing isn't exactly the same as the casual just for fun dancing you might do at a tavern or over at Sezemat's fair. Or it could be a translation thing? That's a possibility too. She isn't from around here, you know."
He shrugs again before he continues.
"Might be for the best if you talk about this with her directly yourself. It seems to be a misunderstanding in between you two after all."
Now it's my turn to scratch the back of my head. He is right. Spot on even. What he suggests is the best possible solution. In the end I can only nod in agreement, although I sip some of my beer too, to cover my embarrassment.
"Thanks. I'll try to broach the subject the next time we are undisturbed. Well, never mind my silly problems. You said you had a quiet day? No problems? No crisis? No big jobs? I guess you don't need me around then either?"
He snorts and shakes his head.
"Nothing for you today. Why is it that you sound so eager to be off again though? Am I not good company?"
I sip some more beer and shake my head.
"Oh no. That's not it at all. I just got worked over quite a bit today. I was thinking about finding myself a quiet little rooftop spot for a quick nap or maybe some meditation. Either would be fine."
He laughs out loud, not very loud though, in response.
"Sounds like you have a plan. You do that. Just drop by every once in a while. And if something really urgent comes up we'll get in contact."
I finish my beer and get back up, handing the empty mug back to the serving girl. With one last smile and a cheerful little wave I'm off again. It's time to put plan into action. Now where might I find myself a quiet rooftop? Not here at the waterfront for sure. It's too busy. In all likelihood it's the same at the other waterfront and the areas closer to where Sezemat's caravan set up shop are bound to by no less busy either. Thus I end up heading deeper into the part of town situated outside the wall, where I finally take to the rooftops in a darker and less frequented side alley, jumping from wall to wall and pulling myself up by various handholds where a jump won't get me anywhere. It's been a while since [Jumping] and [Climbing] made any progress worth noting anyway, thus I don't mind the workout.
After looking around for a moment I find a good spot hidden behind a solid chimney. I won't catch too much sun there and I'll be out of view and out of the wind too just in case.
I lie down there, making myself comfortable or at least as comfortable as one can be out on a roof anyway. Then I close my eyes and start to control my breathing to slip into the meditative state little Brygida taught me. It takes a little more effort under these circumstances, but in the end I manage and the world grows more distant around me.
When I open my eyes again some time later quite a bit of time has passed. The sun is about to set, which means that I probably should get ready to head to Rysia's and Brygida's home for my late night lessons. First though I take a moment to properly process the notifications brushing through the back of my mind.
[*Ding!* Your skill Meditation has leveled up to level 5!]
[*Ding!* Through Meditation your Mana increased by 5!]
As it's a class skill this one directly counts towards the progress of my hedge witch class, which is much appreciated. Counting this one the class should be halfway to its next level up now. And who knows, if I learn enough other magic the rarity of the class itself might get an upgrade too. I certainly wouldn't mind it, not in a bad way at least.
I get up, stretch and readjust my clothes. Then I take off at a run, a run across the rooftops. It's faster that way and it earns my [Running] skill a little much needed progress too. Let's not keep my favorite witches waiting!